Do like this worst.

Dion. Be one of those that think

The petty wrens of Tarsus will fly hence,
And open this to Pericles. I do shame
To think of what a noble strain you are,
And of how coward a spirit.

Cle. To such proceeding

Who ever but his approbation added.
Though not his prime consent, he did not flow
From honourable sources.

Dion. Be it so, then :

Yet none does know, but you, how she came dead,
Nor none can know, Leonine being gone.
She did distain my child, and stood between
Her and her fortunes : none would look on her,
But cast their gazes on Marina's face ;
Whilst ours was blurted at and held a malkin
Not worth the time of day. It pierc'd me

thorough ;

And though you call my course unnatural,
You not your child well loving, yet I find
It greets me as an enterprise of kindness
Perform' d to your sole daughter.

Cle. Heavens forgive it !

Dion. And as for Pericles,

What should he say ? We wept after her hearse,
And yet we mourn : her monument
Is almost finish'd, and her epitaphs
In glittering golden characters express
A general praise to her, and care in us
At whose expense 'tis done.

Cle. Thou art like the harpy,

Which, to betray, dost, with thine angel's face,
Seize with thine eagle's talons.

Dion. You are like one that superstitiously
Doth swear to the gods that winter kills the flies :
But yet I know you '11 do as I advise. Exeunt.

Scene IV. Before the Monument of Marina

at Tarsus.
Enter Gower.
Gow. Thus time we waste, and longest leagues

make short ;

Sail seas in cockles, have an wish but for 't ;
Making, to take your imagination,
From bourn to bourn, region to region.
By you being pardon'd, we commit no crime
To use one language in each several clime



ACT IV., Sc. 6.



PERICLES.



1079



Where our scenes seem to live. I do beseech you
To learn of me, who stand i' the gaps to teach

you,

The stages of our story. Pericles
Is now 'again thwarting the wayward seas,
Attended on by many a lord and knight,
To see his daughter, all his life's delight.
Old Escanes, whom Helicanns late
Advanced in time to great and high estate,
Is left to govern. Bear you it in mind,
Old Helicanus goes along behind.
Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds have

brought

This king to Tarsus, think his pilot thought ;
So with his steerage shall your thoughts groio

on,

To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone.
Like motes and shadows see them move awhile ;
Tour ears unto your eyes I'll reconcile.

[Dumb Show.~\

Enter Pericles, with his train at one door ; Cleon
and Dionyza at the other. Cleon shows Pericles
the tomb; whereat Pericles makes lamenta-
tion, puts on sackcloth, and in a mighty pas-
sion departs. Exeunt Cleon and Dionyza.

See how belief may suffer by foul show !

This borrow' d passion stands for true old woe ;

And Pericles, in sorrow all devour' d,

With sighs shot through, and biggest tears o'er-

shoiver'd,

Leaves Tarsus and again embarks. He swears
Never to wash his face, nor cut his hairs :
He puts on sackcloth, and to sea. He bears
A tempest, which his mortal vessel tears,
And yet he rides it out. Now please you wit
The epitaph is for Marina writ
By wicked Dionyza.

Reads inscription on Marina's monument.

THE FAIREST, SWEET'ST, AND BEST LIES HERE,
WHO WITHER'D IN HER SPRING OF YEAR.
SHE WAS OF TYRUS THE KING'S DAUGHTER,
ON WHOM FOUL DEATH HATH MADE THIS SLAUGH-
TER;

MARINA WAS SHE CALL'l) ; AND AT HER BIRTH,
THETIS, BEING PROUD, SWALLOW'D SOME PART O*

THE EARTH:
THEREFORE THE EARTH, FEARING TO BE O'ER-

FLOW'D,
HATH THETIS' BIRTH-CHILD ON THE HEAVENS

BESTOW'D :
WHEREFORE SHE DOES, AND SWEARS SHE 'LL NEVER

STINT,
MAKE RAGING BATTERY UPON SHORES OF FLINT.

No visor does become black villany

So well as soft and tender flattery.

Let Pericles believe his daughter 's dead,

And bear his courses to be ordered

By Lady Fortune ; while our scene -must play

His daughter's woe and heavy well-a-day

In her unholy service. Patience, then,

And think you now are all in Mitylene. Exit.

Scene V. Mitylene. A Street before the Brothel.
Enter, from the brothel, two Gentlemen.

1 Gent. Did you ever hear the like ?

2 Gent. No, nor never shall do in such a
place as this, she being once gone.



1 Gent. But to have divinity preached there!
did you ever dream of such a thing?

2 Gent. No, no. Come, I am for no more
bawdy-houses. Shall 's go hear the vestals sing ?

1 Gent. I '11 do any thing now that is virtu-
ous ; but I am out of the road of rutting for ever.

Exeunt.

Scene VI. The Same. A Room in the Brothel.
Enter Pandar, Bawd, and Boult.

Pand. Well, I had rather than twice the worth
of her she had ne'er come here.

Bawd. Fie, fie upon her ! she 's able to freeze
the god Priapus, and undo a whole generation.
We must either get her ravished, or be rid of her.
When she should do for clients her fitment, and
do me the kindness of our profession, she has me
her quirks, her reasons, her master reasons, her
prayers, her knees ; that she would make a puri-
tan of the devil, if he should cheapen a kiss of her.

Boult. 'Faith, I must ravish her, or she '11 dis-
furnish us of all our cavaliers, and make our
swearers priests.

Pand. Now, the pox upon her green-sickness
for me !

Bawd. 'Faith, there 's no way to be rid on 't but
by the way to the pox. Here comes the Lord
Lysimachus disguised.

Boult. We should have both lord and lown, if
the peevish baggage would but give way to cus-
tomers.

Enter Lysimachus.

Lys. How now ! How a dozen of virginities ?

Bawd. Now, the gods to bless your honour !

Boult. I am glad to see your honour in good
health.

Lys. You may so ; 'tis the better for you that
your resorters stand upon sound legs. How now !
wholesome iniquity have you that a man may
deal withal, and defy the surgeon ?

Bawd. We have here one, sir, if she would
but there never came her like in Mitylene.

Lys. If she 'Id do the deed of darkness, thou
wouldst say.

Baivd. Your honour knows what 'tis to say well
enough.

Lys. Well, call forth, call forth.

Boult. For flesh and blood, sir, white and red,
you shall see a rose ; and she were a rose indeed,
if she had but

Lys. What, prithee ?

Boult. O, sir, I can be modest.

Lys. That dignifies the renown of a bawd, no
less than it gives a good report, to a number to be
chaste. E>'it Boult.

Bawd. Here comes that which grows to the
stalk ; never plucked yet, I can assure you.

Re-enter Boult icith Marina.

Is she not a fair creature ?

Lys. 'Faith, she would serve after a long voyage
at sea. Well, there 's for you : leave us.

Bawd. I beseech your honour, give me leave :
a word, and I '11 have done presently.

Lys. I beseech you, do.

Bawd. [To Marina] First, I would have you
note, this is an honourable man.



1080



PERICLES.



ACT IV., Sc. 6.



Mar. I desire to find him so, that I may worthily
note him.

Bawd. Next, he 's the governor of this country,
and a man whom I am bound to.

Mar. If he govern the country, you are bound
to him indeed ; but how honourable he is in that,
I know not.

Bawd. Pray you, without any more virginal
fencing, will you use him kindly ? He will line
your apron with gold.

Mar. What he will do graciously, I will thank-
fully receive.
Lys. Have you done ?

Bawd. My lord, she 's not paced yet : you must
take some pains to work her to your manage.
Come, we will leave his honour and her together.
Lys. Go thy ways. [Exeunt Bawd, Pandar,
and Boult.'] Now, pretty one, how long have
you been at this trade ?
Mar. What trade, sir ?

Lys. Why, I cannot name 3 t but I shall offend.
Mar. I cannot be offended with my trade.
Please you to name it.

Lys. How long have you been of this profession?
Mar. E'er since I can remember.
Lys. Did you go to 't so young ? Were you a
gamester at five or at seven ?

Mar. Earlier too, sir, if now I be one.
Lys. Why, the house you dwell in proclaims
yon to be a creature of sale.

Mar. Do you know this house to be a place of
such resort, and will come into 't ? I hear say you
are of honourable parts, and are the governor of
this place.

Lys. Why, hath your principal made known
unto you who I am ?

Mar. Who is my principal ?
Lys. Why, your herb-woman : she that sets
seeds and roots of shame and iniquity. O, you
have heard something'of my power, and so stand
aloof for more serious wooing. But I protest to
thee, pretty one, my authority shall not see thee,
or else look friendly upon thee. Come, bring me
to some private place : come, come.

Mar. If you were born to honour, show it now ;
If put upon you, make the judgment good
That thought you worthy of it.
Lys. How 's this ? how 's this ? Some more ; be

sage.

Mar. For me,

That am a maid, though most ungentle fortune
Hath placed me in this sty, where, since I came,
Diseases have been sold dearer than physic,
O, that the gods

Would set me free from this unhallow'd place,
Though they did change me to the meanest bird
That flies i' the purer air !

Lys. I did not think

Thou couldst have spoke so well ; ne'er dream'd I

thou couldst.

Had I brought hither a corrupted mind,
Thy speech had alter'd it. Hold, here 's gold for |

thee :

Persever in that clear way thou goest,
And the gods strengthen thee !

Mar. The good gods preserve you ! )

Lys. For me, be you thoughten
That I came with no ill intent ; for to me
The very doors and windows savour vilely.



Fare thee well. Thou art a piece of virtue, and

I doubt not but thy training hath been noble.

Hold, here 's more gold for thee.

A curse upon him, die he like a thief,

That robs thee of thy goodness ! If thou dost

Hear from me, it shall be for thy good.

Re-enter Boult.

Boult. I beseech your honour, one piece for me.

Lys. Avaunt, thou damned door-keeper ! Your

.house,

But for this virgin that doth prop it, would
Sink and overwhelm you. Away ! Exit .

Boult. How 's this ? We must take another
course with you. If your peevish chastity, which
is not worth a breakfast in the cheapest country
under the cope, shall undo a whole household, let
me be gelded like a spaniel. Come your ways.

Mar. Whither would you have me ?

Boult. I must have your maidenhead taken off,
or the common hangman shall execute it. Come
your ways. We '11 have no more gentlemen driven
away. Come your ways, I say.

Re-enter Bawd.

Bawd. How now ! what 's the matter?

Boult. Worse and worse, mistress ; she has
here spoken holy words to the Lord Lysimachus.

Bawd. O abominable !

Boult. She makes our profession as it were to
stink afore the face of the gods.

Bawd. Marry, hang her up for ever !

Boult. The nobleman would have dealt with
her like a nobleman, and she sent him away as
cold as a snowball ; saying his prayers too.

Baiud. Boult, take her away ; use her at thy
pleasure : crack the glass of her virginity, and
make the rest malleable.

Boult. An if she were a thornier piece of
ground than she is, she shall be ploughed.

Mar. Hark, hark, you gods !

Bawd. She conjures : away with her ! Would
she had never come within my doors ! Marry,
hang you ! She 's born to undo us. Will you not
gc the way of women-kind ? Marry, come up, my
dish of chastity with rosemary and bays ! E,rit.

Boult. Come, mistress ; come your way with
me.

Mar. Whither wilt thou have me ?

Boult. To take from you the jewel you hold
so dear.

Mar. Prithee, tell me one thing first.

Boult. Come now, your one thing.

Mar. What canst thou wish thine enemy to
be?

Boult. Why, I could wish him to be my master,
or rather, my mistress.

Mar. Neither of these are so bad as thou art,
Since they do better thee in their command.
Thou hold'st a place, for which the pained' st

fiend

Of hell would not in reputation change :
Thou art the damned door-keeper to every
Coistrel that comes inquiring for his Tib ;
To the choleric fisting of every rogue
Thy ear is liable ; thy food is such
As hath been belch' d on by infected lungs.

Boult. What would you have me do? go to
the wars, would you? where a man may serve



ACT V, Sc. 1.



PERICLES.



1081



seven years for the loss of a leg, and have not
money enough in the end to buy him a wooden
one ?

Mar. Do any thing but this thou doest. Empty
Old receptacles, or common sewers, of filth ;
Serve by indenture to the common hangman :
Any of these ways are yet better than this ;
For what thou professest, a baboon, could he

speak,

Would own a name too dear. O, that the gods
Would safely deliver me from this place !
Here, here 's gold for thee.
If that thy master would gain by me,
Proclaim that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance,
With other virtues, which I '11 keep from boast ;
And I will undertake all these to teach.
I doubt not but this populous city will
Yield many scholars.

Boult. But can you teach all this you speak of ?

Mar. Prove that I cannot, take me home again,
And prostitute me to the basest groom
That doth frequent your house.

Boult. Well, I will see what I can do for thee :
if I can place thee, I will.

Mar. But, amongst honest women.

Boult. 'Faith, my acquaintance lies little a-
mongst them. But since my master and mistress
have bought you, there 's no going but by their
consent : therefore I will make them acquainted
with your purpose, and I doubt not but I shall
find them tractable enough. Come, I '11 do for
thee what I can ; come your ways. Exeunt.



Act V.



Enter Grower.
Goiv. Marina thus the brothel 'scapes, and

chances

Into an honest house, our story says.
She sings like one immortal, and she dances
As goddess-like to her admired lays ;
Deep clerks she dumbs; and with her neeld

composes
Nature's own shape, of bud, bird, branch,

or berry,

That even her art sisters the natural roses ;
Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry :
That pupils lacks she none of noble race,
Who pour their bounty on her ; and her gain
She gives the cursed bawd. Here we her place :
And to her father turn our thoughts again,
Where we left him, on the sea. We there him

lost ;

Whence, driven before the winds, he is arrived
Here where his daughter dwells ; and on this

coast

Suppose him now at anchor. The city strived
God Neptune's annual feast to keep : from

whence

Lysimachus our Tyrian ship espies,
His banners sable, trimm'd with rich expense;
And to him in /M'S barge with fervour hies.
In your supposing once more put your sight
Of heavy Pericles ; think this his bark :
Where what is done in action, more, if might,
Shall be discovered ; please you, sit and hark.

Exit.



Scene I. On board Pericles" Ship, off Mitylene.

A close Pavilion on deck, with a curtain before

it ; Pericles within it, reclining on a couch. A

barge lying beside the Tyrian vessel.
Enter two Sailors, one belonging to the Tyrian

vessel, the other to the barge ; to them Heli-

canus.

Tyr. Sail. [To the Sailor of Mitylene] Where is

Lord Helicanus ? he can resolve you.
O, here he is.

Sir, there 's a barge put off from Mitylene,
And in it is Lysimachus, the governor,
Who craves to come aboard. What is your will ?

Hel. That he have his. Call up some gentle-
men.

Tyr. Sail. Ho, gentlemen ! my lord calls.

Enter two or three Gentlemen.

1 Gent. Doth your lordship call ?

Hel. Gentlemen, there 's some of worth would

come aboard ;
I pray ye, greet them fairly.

The Gentlemen and Sailors descend, and
go on board the barge.

Enter, from thence, Lysimachus and Lords ; with
the Gentlemen and the two Sailors.

Tyr. Sail. Sir,

This is the man that can, in aught you would,
Resolve you.

Lys. Hail, reverend sir ! The gods preserve
you !

Hel. And you, sir, to outlive the age I am,
And die as I would do.

Lys. _ You wish me well.

Being on shore, honouring of Neptune's triumphs,
Seeing this goodly vessel ride before us,
I made to it, to know of whence you are.

Hel. First, what is your place ?

Lys. I am the governor of this place you lie
before.

Hel. Sir,

Our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king ;
A man who for this three months hath not

spoken

To any one, nor taken sustenance
But to prorogue his grief.

Lys. Upon what ground is his distemperature ?

Hel. 'T would be too tedious to repeat ;
But the main grief springs from the loss
Of a beloved daughter and a wife.

Lys. May we not see him ?

Hel. You may ;

But bootless is your sight : he will not speak
To any.

Lys. Yet let me obtain my wish.

Hel. Behold him. [Pericles discovered.'] This?

was a goodly person,
Till the disaster that, one mortal night,
Drove him to this.

Lys. Sir king, all hail ! the gods preserve yon !
Hail, royal sir !

Hel. It is in vain ; he will not speak to you.

1 Lord. Sir ?>

We have a maid in Mitylene, I durst wager,
Would win some words of liim.

L j/s . ' Tis well bethought.

She questionless with her sweet harmony



1082



PERICLES.



ACT V., Sc. 1.



And other chosen attractions, would allure,
And make a battery through his deafen' d parts,
Which now are midway stopp'd :
She is all happy as the fairest of all,
And, with her fellow maids, is now upon
The leafy shelter that abuts against
The island's side.

Whispers a Lord, who puts off in
the barge of Lysimachus.

Hel. Sure, all's effectless; yet nothing we'll

omit,
That bears recovery's name. But, since your

kindness

We have stretch'd thus far, let us beseech you
That for our gold we may provision have,
Wherein we are not destitute for want,
But weary for the staleness.

Lys. O, sir, a courtesy

Which if we should deny, the most just gods
For every graff would send a caterpillar,
And so afflict our province. Yet once more
Let me entreat to know at large the cause
Of your king's sorrow.

Hel. Sit, sir, I will recount it to you :

But, see, I am prevented.

Re-enter, from the barge, Lord, with Marina,
and a young Lady.

Lys. O, here is

The lady that I sent for. Welcome, fair one !
Is 't not a goodly presence ?

Hel. She 's a gallant lady.

Lys. She 's such a one, that, were I well assur'd
Came of a gentle kind and noble stock,
I 'Id wish no better choice, and think me rarely wed.
Fair one, all goodness that consists in bounty
Expect even here, where is a kingly patient :
If that thy prosperous and artificial feat
Can draw him but to answer thee in aught,
Thy sacred physic shall receive such pay
As thy desires can wish.

Mar. Sir, I will use

My utmost skill in his recovery,
Provided that none but I and my companion maid
Be suffer'd to come near him.

Lys. Come, let us leave her ;

And the gods make her prosperous !

Marina sings.

Lys. Mark'd he your music ?

Mar. No, nor look'd on us.

Lys. See, she will speak to him.

Mar. Hail, sir ! my lord, lend ear.

Per. Hum! ha!

Mar. I am a maid,

My lord, that ne'er before invited eyes,
But have been gazed on like a comet : she speaks,
My lord, that, may be, hath endur'd a grief
Might equal yours, if both were justly weigh'd.
Though wayward fortune did malign my state,
My derivation was from ancestors
Who stood equivalent with mighty kings :
But time hath rooted out my parentage,
And to the world and awkward casualties
Bound me in servitude. [Aside] I will desist ;
But there is something glows upon my cheek,
And whispers in mine ear ' Go not till he speak.'

Per. My fortunes parentage good parent-
age
To equal mine ! was it not thus ? what say you ?



Mar. I said, my lord, if you did know my

parentage,
You would not do me violence.

Per. I do think so. Pray you, turn your eyes

upon me.

You are like something that What country-wo-
man ?
Here of these shores ?

Mar. No, nor of any shores :

Yet I was mortally brought forth, and am
No other than I appear.
Per. I am great with woe, and shall deliver

weeping.
My dearest wife was like this maid, and such a

one
My daughter might have been : my queen's

square brows ;

Her stature to an inch ; as wand-like straight ;
As silver-voiced ; her eyes as jewel-like
And cased as richly ; in pace another Juno ;
Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes them

hungry,
The more she gives them speech. Where do you

live?
Mar. Where I am but a stranger : from the

deck
You may discern the place.

Per. Where were you bred ?

And how achieved you these endowments, which
You make more rich to owe ?

Mar. If I should tell my history, it would seem
Like lies disdain'd in the reporting.

Per. Prithee, speak :

Falseness cannot come from thee ; for thoulook'st
Modest as justice, and thou seem'st a palace
For the crown' d truth to dwell in : I believe thee,
And make my senses credit thy relation
To points that seem impossible; for thou look'st
Like one I loved indeed. What were thy friends ?
Didst thou not say, when I did push thee back
Which was when I perceiv'd thee that thou

earnest

From good descending ?
Mar. So indeed I did.

Per. Eeport thy parentage. I think thou

said'st

Thou hadst been toss'd from wrong to injury,
And that thou thought' st thy griefs might equal

mine,
If both were open'd.

Mar. Some such thing

I said, and said no more but what my thoughts
Did warrant me was likely.

Per. Tell thy story ;

If thine consider 'd prove the thousandth part
Of my endurance, thou art a man, and I
Have suffer'd like a girl : yet thou dost look
Like Patience gazing on kings' graves, and

smiling

Extremity out of act. What were thy friends ?
How lost thou them ? Thy name, my most kind

virgin ?

Eecount, I do beseech thee : come, sit by me.
Mar. My name is Marina.
Per. O, I am mock'd,

And thou by some incensed god sent hither
To make the world to laugh at me.

Mar. Patience, good sir,

Or here I '11 cease.



ACT II., Sc. 1.



P ERIC LEX.



1067



Here many sink, yet those which see them fall
Have scarce strength left to give them burial.
Is not this true ?

Dio. Our cheeks and hollow eyes do witness it.

Cle. 0, let those cities that of plenty's cup
And her prosperities so largely taste,
With their superfluous riots, hear these tears !
The misery of Tarsus may be theirs.

Enter a Lord.

Lord. Where 's the lord governor ?

Cle. Here.
Speak out thy sorrows which thou bring'st in

haste,
For comfort is too far for us to expect.

Lord. We have descried, upon our neighbour-
ing shore,
A portly sail of ships make hitherward.

Cle. I thought as much.
One sorrow never comes but brings an heir
That may succeed as his inheritor ;
And so in ours. Some neighbouring nation,
Taking advantage of our misery,
Hath stuff 'd these hollow vessels with their

power,

To beat us down, the which are down already;
And make a conquest of unhappy me,
Whereas no glory's got to overcome.

Lord. That 's the least fear; for by the sem-
blance

Of their white flags display'd, they bring us peace,
And come to us as favourers, not as foes.

Cle. Thou speak' st like him 's untutor'd to

repeat :

Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.
But bring they what they will and what they can,
What need we fear ?
The ground's the lowest, and we are halfway

there.

Go tell their general we attend him here,
To know for what he comes, and whence he comes,
And what he craves.

Lord. I go, my lord. E;cit.

Cle. Welcome is peace, if he on peace consist ;
If wars, we are unable to resist.

Enter Pericles, with Attendants.

Per. Lord governor, for so we hear you are,
Let not our ships and number of our men
Be like a beacon tir'd to amaze your eyes.
We have heard your miseries as far as Tyre,
And seen the desolation of your streets :
Nor come we to add sorrow to your tears,
But to relieve them of their heavy load ;
And these our ships, you happily may think
Are like the Trojan horse was stuff 'd within
With bloody veins, expecting overthrow,
Are stor'd with corn to make your needy brend.
And give them life whom hunger starved half
deed.

All. The gods of Greece protect you !
And we '11 pray for you.

Per. Arise, I pray you, rise :

We do not look for reverence, but for love,
And harbourage for ourself, afcir ships, and men.

Cle. The which when any shall not gratify,
Or pay you with urithankfnlnoss in 'thought,
Be it our wives, our children, or ourselves,
The curse of heaven and men succeed their evils !



Till when, the which I hope, shall ne'er be seen,
Your grace is welcome to our town and us.

Per. Which welcome we '1J. accept ; feast here

awhile,
Until our stars that frown lend us a smile.

Exeunt ,



Act II.



Enter Gower.

Gow. Here have you seen a mighty king
His child, I wis, to incest briny ;
A better prince and benign lord,
That will prove awful both in deed and word.
He quiet then as men should be,
Till he hath pass'd necessity.
I'll show you those in troubles reign,
Losing a mite, a mountain gain.
The good in conversation,